


The Serpent in the Lion's Den

by AsaHGrey



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Gryffindor, Gryffindor Draco Malfoy, HP AU, HP alternate universe, Harry Potter AU, Harry Potter alternate universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 04:58:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11479098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsaHGrey/pseuds/AsaHGrey
Summary: If Draco Malfoy had been brave. Maybe only for a moment.If Draco Malfoy had met Harry Potter like a friend, not an enemy.If Draco Malfoy had been a Gryffindor...





	The Serpent in the Lion's Den

Draco Lucius Malfoy was born to be a Slytherin. He came from a long line of Slytherins. Two long lines, in fact. The Malfoy and Black families came together to create a small bundle of- well, not joy- but something similar to joy. He might have been a bundle of joy, had he not been a product of Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy. Or raised in a different household.

Or perhaps, Draco Malfoy was born under a bad sign. Perhaps it was fate that he was raised the way he was. Had he not been raised as he was, he wouldn’t have met Harry Potter. And he was changed for the better because of Harry Potter.

 

It was early August before Draco’s first year in Hogwarts when his parents took him to Diagon Alley for his school supplies. It wasn’t his first time visiting the enchanting market place, so he was not allowed to gawk lest he look foolish, but the butterflies in his stomach did not listen to reason. It was always beautiful seeing it: the magic that lingered in the air. There was magic all around him at home, he was from a magical family, after all, but the Malfoy house was all subdued grays and greens, and Diagon Alley was bursts of color everywhere. It made the magic in him hum with excitement.

Lucius Malfoy set his hand on his son’s shoulder and steered him to Madame Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, and Narcissa trailed demurely behind her husband and son. “Alright, Draco, you know how to have Malkin fit your robes for you. I’ll be next door buying your books, and your mother-“

“I suppose I’ll be off browsing through wands for you,” Narcissa finished for her husband.

“And after the robes, we’ll buy a wand?” Draco asked, again feeling the butterflies in his stomach surge.

“Yes, of course!” Narcissa smiled lovingly at her son. She stooped down a tad to be closer to his eyeline and smoothed back his hair which was already sleek and properly in place thanks to the copious amounts of Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion. “You’ll be alright by yourself?”

Lucius scoffed. “Come now, Narcissa, don’t baby the boy.”

“Of course not, dear, of course not.” Narcissa stood and straightened her own hair.

“I’ll be fine, Mum,” Draco mumbled, ears slightly pink after being embarrassed by his mother in public.

The Malfoys parted ways to their respective tasks, and Draco was thankful that Madame Malkin’s shop was rather empty throughout his fitting and there were no problems. He left the robe shop with a proud smirk on his face, and nearly ran into a giant of a man in a huge brown coat.

“Blimey!” He blurted before composing himself to be more like the pureblood Malfoy he was. “Sorry, you’re just- just-“ as he stammered a boy with untamed dark hair and glasses stepped out from behind the giant man which made the boy turn from the loose trick rocket that came hurtling at his head. “LOOK OUT!” He yelled and tackled the boy out of the way of the rocket.

He quickly scrambled off the boy he had just tackled. He felt odd. His reflexes were not usually as fast as they had just been, but he was glad that the boy seemed unhurt. “Sorry, there was a rocket, and it was going to hit you.”

“Blimey, ‘Arry. I reckon he jus’ saved yer skull!” The large man proclaimed.

“Thank- thank you.” The boy awkwardly stood up. “I’m Harry. Harry Potter.”

Draco felt his mouth hang open, only for a moment, before he regained his composure and held out his hand. “Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.” Harry reached to shake his hand.

“Malfoy?!” Proclaimed the giant.

Indignant at the disgust in his voice, Draco asked in a slimey tone he had long ago realized sounded like his father’s, “And you are?”

“Hagrid, he just saved my life,” Harry interjected.

“Yer right. I’m sorry, young Mr. Malfoy.” He said the last words with a hint of sarcasm, but Draco chose to overlook it, and apologized as well.

Draco saw his father moving closer and closer to the front of Flourish and Blotts, so Draco quickly said, “It was nice to meet you, Harry. I suppose I’ll see you on the train to Hogwarts.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you, Malfoy.”

“Just Draco.”

“Then I’ll see you, Draco.”

Draco nodded and went to find his father.

 

Draco stepped on Platform 9 ¾ alone. His parents had had an important business meeting to attend to, so they sent Draco with the Goyles, though Draco had swiftly lost them in the crowd, thoroughly bored by the brutish Gregory Goyle, who was also in his first year at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Goyle would probably be sorted into Slytherin along with him, so Draco took the first chance he had to be rid of him before he had to spend the rest of his Hogwarts life in the same dormitory as him.

He had loaded his baggage onto the train and stepped back out onto the platform to grab his last bag when he spotted a familiar mop of unruly dark hair. “Harry!” he yelled across the platform. Harry turned, and Draco was surprised to see a smile on his face when he did. Harry’s smile was genuine and contagious, causing Draco to smile back.

He caught up to the bespectacled boy and started a conversation about Quidditch, which Harry knew nothing about. Draco spent the next twenty minutes before the train left the station explaining some of the more basic rules of Quidditch and describing in detail some of his favorite parts about the game. He was in the middle of telling Harry about the infamous 1473 Quidditch World Cup, his favorite Quidditch story of all time, when a long-nosed redhead with a large smug on his nose poked his head through the door.

“Anyone sitting there?” He gestured to a seat of the other end of the bench Harry occupied. “Everywhere else is full.”

Draco was about to make a snide remark when Harry spoke first. “Sure, there’s plenty of room.”

The boy nosed in the compartment and arranged his things. Draco sat there incredulously as a pair of twin redheads, most likely related to the first redhead popped into the compartment and introduced themselves to Harry as Fred and George Weasley (that’s right! Father had said that Weasley had a horde of ginger children.) before introducing the gangly boy who had already come in as Ron. The mentioned something about a giant spider before leaving, and the Weasley boy who remained seemed paler than he had been but blurted out to Harry, “Are you really Harry Potter?”

Harry nodded and Draco interjected, “Scar and all.” Harry pulled his dark hair up off his forehead to prove he had the scar, and Draco saw for the first time what his parents did in the world. The scar was blindingly white on his skin, lightning streaking on his forehead, a reminder of the spell that should have killed him, but instead killed the Dark Lord.

Draco realized that Ron and Harry had been talking while he had been distracted by the thought of Harry’s scar and that he has missed part of the conversation. They were talking about Muggle families and big families, neither of which Draco knew anything about. He decided not to add his opinion, because Ron was being rather open about his family’s money problems and Draco was afraid that Harry would think less of him if he were to say anything his father might say.

Draco did reenter the conversation when Harry said the Dark Lord’s- You-Know-Who’s real name. Ron was flabbergasted at his bravery, and frankly, Draco was too. His parents never said his name, as if the mention of him would bring him slithering out of the floorboards. “How can you say his name after what happened?” Draco wondered, incredulously.

“I suppose I’m just not afraid of a name?” Harry shrugged. “He’s gone, right?”

“We hope. There are some who still act like he’s around.” Ron glared pointedly at Draco.

Draco sneered, “And some of us have our heads up our arses and don’t believe that he’ll come back.”

“Well some of us don’t _hope_ that a bloody murdering psychopath won’t come back!”

“And some of us are lucky we’re still alive ‘cause we come from a family of blood traitors!”

“HEY!” Harry yelled. Draco and Ron both turned to Harry, ears slightly red. “What’s all this about?”

“Malfoy’s family were Death Eaters; He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s supporters.” Ron grumbled, accusatorily.

“And Weasel’s family doesn’t support purebloods even though they are.”

“Purebloods?” Harry questioned.

“Completely wizarding families. No muggleborns.” Ron explained.

“Well, what’s wrong with muggleborns? They still have magic, don’t they?”

“Not _real_ magic.”

“And what’s real magic, eh, Draco?” Harry smirked.

“Well-uh… magic’s just magic… My father never liked muggleborns.”

“You’re not your father.” Harry acknowledged. “And he doesn’t have to be like his dad if he doesn’t want to, eh, Ron?”

“I s’pose.” Ron shrugged.

Harry nodded resolutely. “Then it’s settled. Friends, then?”

The other boys nodded.

Someone opened the compartment door. It was the trolley. “Anything off the trolley, dears?” She asked sweetly.

Ron held up a sandwich- creamed corn, from the look of it- and said. “No, thanks. I’m set.”

Draco thought of the roast chicken in his pocket and shook his head no.

Harry turned out his pockets with a smirk. “We’ll take the lot.”

 

A while later, the three boys were interrupted again. They had been gorging themselves on sweets, chicken and sandwich, all shared amongst them when a frizzy haired girl in her full Hogwarts robes opened the compartment door. “Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville’s lost him.”

They all shook their heads. Ron used his wand to poke at his pet rat, who was scavenging in a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavored Beans.

The girl saw Ron’s wand in his hand. “Are you doing magic then? Let’s see it.”

Ron grimaced. “My brothers taught me a spell to turn Scabbers yellow. Sort of. It doesn’t always work.. but, all right. Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow.. turn this stupid fat rat yellow!”

The rat squeaked, but continued eating Every Flavor Beans, still gray-brown and patchy.

“Is that a real spell? Hardly seems to work.” She sat across from Harry, rather close to an uncomfortable Draco, pulled her wand from her robes, and pointed them directly at Harry. “Occulus reparo.” She said in an even tone. Harry’s taped and cracked glasses were good as new, and even Draco was impressed by her abilities. “I’ve been doing some reading. I’m Hermione by the way. Hermione Granger. And you’re… Harry Potter! I’ve read about you.” She paused, then turned to the other two boys in the compartment. “And you are?”

Ron had just taken a bite of a licorice wand, but he muttered “Ron Weasley” with a full mouth anyway.

“Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.” He stretched his hand out to her, and she took it. Her hand was cold and she quickly let go.

“You’ve got dirt on your nose, by the way.” She said to Ron. He conspicuously swiped at his nose.

Hermione stood up to leave, but just before she left, she turned and said, “You should probably be getting changed. We’re nearly there.”

 

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station, Harry and Ron set off to say hello to Hagrid, but Draco had to perform the frustrating task of ditching Goyle all over again. The three met up at the docks to the boats. The sight of the glistening lights of the sprawling castle glistening on the dark water was the most beautiful and magical thing Draco had ever seen. The crowd of first years went silent as they saw, for the first time, their second home for the next seven years of their lives.

 

The next thing Draco knew, the students were just outside of the Great Hall. He had spent the entire boat ride to the castle in awe, drinking in the sight of it as much as possible. A Professor named McGonagall gave an explanation to the students, one which Draco already knew, thanks to his parents, and he barely listened. It was tormenting him: the Sorting. He was so afraid that he wouldn’t be put in Slytherin and he would shame his family. But he was terrified that he would be put in Slytherin and scare away his new friends. Harry and Ron were his equals, something he had never experienced in his peers before. Goyle- and Crabbe, a brutish meathead like Goyle- were nowhere near his intellectual heights, but Harry and Ron could be. But if Draco chose the Dark Lord’s enemy and a blood traitor over his family… he would never truly be a Malfoy again.

The doors to the Great Hall opened and the first years were lead in, gasping and gawking at the sights. Draco heard that Hermione girl whispering facts to the student next to her.

The first years gathered around the Sorting Hat on its stool and it sang.

Then, the Sorting began, and the nerves boiled and brewed in Draco’s stomach. The first student to be sorted was put in Hufflepuff, and on it went. Crabbe and Goyle were both in Slytherin, as Draco had suspected. He watched as Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. Quite a shock, seeing how Ravenclaw she seemed.

Then, suddenly, Draco was next. Neither Harry nor Ron had been sorted, but he knew where they would be. They were Gryffindors, he knew it. And as Draco was walking towards the Sorting Hat’s awaiting brim, Draco made his decision. The people he had met were the sort he wanted to be around, not the sort his parents chose for him.

“ _Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor,”_ he whispered in his mind. The hat was placed on his head.

“Gryffindor, you say?” The hat whispered in his ear. “But you’re not the brave sort of fellow, are you? You’re cunning and quick and ambitious. But, ahhh, I see. You want to be different. To be special.”

“NO,” Draco whispered harshly. “ _I want to be brave. I want to belong. I want to be better.”_

The hat raised its voice for all to hear. “GRYFFINDOR!”


End file.
